aerial wrote:Well, I have to go back to work in the land of the Great White Hippie, which means remote communication with the outside world. So....... before leaving I wanted to see if I could stir the pot a little. I will be curious what decision Chad finally makes for that fine bird he is building. Either one I am sure will be a good one.
Well, first of all, I wish you the best on going back to work with limited communication. That'd be REALLY tough for me...
Secondly...
aerial wrote:Here's a brief run-down of my Subaru vs. Lycoming findings.
1)R Van told me not to do an auto conversion. (Period)
Why would he? He sells new Lycomings...
aerial wrote:2) Jan E told me at Sun 'n' Fun he got his experience with engines driving his Volkswagen around and working on it. (I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic, but he did not break a smile and did not seem to want to elaborate).
Well, my guess is he was being sarcastic...he's been known to do that. Here's his quick and dirty bio from the website-
Jan Eggenfellner is a professional pilot and aircraft mechanic. He has 6 years of college behind him with Bachelor of Science degrees in Aviation Management, Flight Operations and Aviation Technology.
Jan has extensive knowledge of modern automobile and aircraft engines and a thorough knowledge of mechanical design practices. He has been building and flying converted automobile engines for aircrafts for 18 years. He loves his work and guarantees every engine he builds.
aerial wrote:3) Subaru's are great cars. But they put out good horsepower pretty high in the RPM range for aircraft, in my opinion.
That's true. We are all used to the power coming at 2700 rpm. High rpm is not dangerous, just out of the ordinary, and different. Small pistons and short throws need rpm to generate the power. I'll be getting used to this myself!
aerial wrote:4) If you shop around you can buy a brand new 2007 Subaru car, WRX, turbo-charged 238 hp, 4 wheel drive for about $23,5k and still have money left over to buy a Lycoming core, and rebuild it, before you match the price of and Egg conversion.
Explain to me where you can find a core AND rebuild it for $5,500??? The Egg can be bought FWF thru the propeller for $29k.
aerial wrote:5) Your wife will be happier with a newer car
That's ALWAYS true...
aerial wrote:6) From what I see they are heavier (#1 no-no for performance) and have more cooling drag.
Depends on what your definition of heavy is. Dan C's airplane weighs 1123#'s last I knew. My friend Benny's airplane with the H6 weighs 1150#'s. Some do weigh over 1200, so do some Lyc powered airplanes. It's true they are not gonna be lightweights at anything less than 1100#'s.
You'd be hard pressed to prove they have more cooling drag. Cooling drag on an air cooled engine is very difficult to minimize with anything less than IDEAL baffling.
aerial wrote:6) Lycoming's with a good fixed pitch prop(Catto 3 blade) that are dynamically balanced are smooth, simple, light, and fast.
Agreed. Not as smooth as a Subaru. They are simple, light, and fast though. That's not what it's all about for me though.
aerial wrote:7) Lycomings are easy to work on and maintain.
Yeah, but they are EXPENSIVE to work on and maintain.
aerial wrote:8] You can always sell your lycoming engine for decent change and put in the Subaru engine after your wife is tired of the sports car.
Why not just do it to start with?
Sweet pic of the WRX!!
